Pediatric Medicine

Don't let it blog you down, kiddo

Are baby blogs � today's version of nude baby snaps
� destined to spawn a generation of messed-up bully magnets?

By Peter Woodford

Baby blogs � a fun yet harmless way to record the foibles of the very young, or a menace planting the seeds of psychological ruin in our youth?

Blogs, short for web logs (any resemblance to Star Trek's Captain's Log is purely coincidental), and also known as an Internet diary or online journal, are a relatively recent phenomenon that have caught on big on the net. The earliest blogs tackled fascinating net-related topics like 'java applet storing object databases' � but soon people started writing blogs about just about everything. The baby blog is a natural development, as people love regaling others with the minutiae of their offspring.

Baby blogs tend to be a lot like the babies they profile � their biggest fans are usually their creators. Readers are often other parents looking to compare experiences. Though baby blogs can be filled with helpful tips and may even foster solidarity amongst the ranks of new parents � there may be a dark cloud to this silver lining.

Cary Cooper � no relation to the Hollywood tough guy � a professor of organizational psychology at UK's Lancaster University and a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire has recently brought this important issue to the attention of the international medical community. Dr Cooper has voiced concern that these public forums of parental musings could hold a mother lode of latent psychological trauma for baby when he or she is grown up. In other words, baby blogs could contain humiliating tidbits for future bullies to use. Professor Cooper, who also recently warned of the perilous health consequences of agressively worded workplace email, urges restraint on the part of blogging parents.

Does it not stand to reason � after all, accidents will happen among those yet to rein in their sphincter muscles � that these scatological incidents needn't be committed to the annals of web history?

A 'CUTE' OVERDOSE
As with christening gowns and nude photos, when dealing with baby blogs 'cute' is very much in the eye of the beholder. Take the following example from archetypal baby blog, babythoughts.co.uk:

"Should I change Jake's nappy before I feed him or afterwards? Logically, you'd answer that I should feed him first, give him a chance to pee while I burp him, then change his nappy. The trouble with this scenario is that I inevitably get peed on.... It's like he can't help it as soon as the chillier air touches his nether parts."

Now imagine your friends having read that about you � when you were 13 years old.

Trixieupdate.com is a bit of an odd duck in the baby blog world. Written by a stay-at-home dad, it takes a scientific approach, meticulously tracking the 'current diaper leak record' in 'hours since last accident' like a 'days since a lost time accident' sign.

Ben MacNeil, the brains behind trixieupdate.com, hopes the subject, nine-month-old Beatrix, will grow to take her blog in stride. "As for when she's older, it's always possible that she might be embarrassed if her friends see the blog," he says. "The only difference here might be one of scale � say, a website versus a single christening-gown photo � and I'm not sure what effect that has on the situation."